Tag Archives: Baroness

Of all of the 50th Anniversary sets available this year, the Social Clash was one of the most anticipated by fans. Featuring the mass market release of the “Concept Case” Lady Jaye as well as a re-release of the Baroness, this two-pack was part of the “second wave” of product hitting both Toys R Us and BigBadToyStore.

Were these two ladies worth the wait? Or was it a case of the anticipation being greater than the realization? Check out the Social Clash review over in the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Review Index and find out one Joe fan’s opinion!

It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. Ebay seller viperskingdom has listed several items from the forthcoming 50th Anniversary collection up for auction. I’ve mirrored some of the images below but all of his auctions may also be found HERE.

Okay, I’m just going to go straight to the elephant in the room– the incredibly poor paint applications seen on the Lady Jaye figure. Really– that’s one of the worst paint decos I’ve seen since the 2000 relaunch of the brand with the G.I. Joe vs. Cobra era. This is the same head that was used by the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club for the Night Force Lady Jaye that was a 2013 Joe Con convention souvenir which means that fans have already seen how this head can turn out. They’ve now got something to compare this “G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary” version to. (I still argue that it’s really the “32nd Anniversary of ARAH”.) Those same fans have also come to expect a certain level of quality from Hasbro produced items.

This isn’t it. It’s like QC just took the night off and let the interns take a shot at painting.

As for the rest of the line? Well, quite honestly– it’s uninspired. Rather than celebrating the wide half-century history of a brand that redefined action figures for generations the marketing folks at Hasbro cobbled together a collection of repaints and some concept vault figures and called it a night. While the more recent Joe fans might like the offerings, this long time Joe fan finds them lazy, uninspired, and downright insulting to the collectors of the 1:6 era that put G.I. Joe on the map in the first place.

Sure, there’s going to be a Snow Wolf and a “mostly new” Leatherneck, but overall this line is nothing even close to what it really should have been.

The fans of the G.I. Joe community are some of the most charitable around. Countless times have I seen fan groups holding events and raising funds for charity– giving of their time and energy to help those who are less fortunate. Such is the case with The Finest – a G.I. Joe costume club whose current IndieGoGo project is helping to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project.

The premise is this– for a contribution of $25.00 on their IndieGoGo project site, fans will receive a full color printed calendar (as well as a digital .PDF copy) featuring “the Ladies of the Finest” in some fantastic G.I. Joe-themed photo shoots. It’s all tastefully done and features characters both familiar and brand new! It’ll be a perfect way to start off 2015 and help our wounded veterans as well. However, there are multiple contribution tiers as well– each with their own unique contribution rewards! Remember, once printing costs are covered, all proceeds will go to the Wounded Warrior Project!

With 46 days left they’re just over halfway to their stated goal of $7500.00. C’mon Joe fans– let’s push them over the top, help the brave men and women who receive assistance from the Wounded Warrior Project, and get a slick fan-generated calendar to boot! The deadline to fund the project is April 11, 2014 so make your contribution today!

There’s no need for a lot of verbiage here! This year’s SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set is finally available!

UPDATE: 10/16/2013 AS OF NOW THE SET APPEARS TO BE SOLD OUT!

Now that the lawsuit between Hasbro & Harmony Gold has been settled it would seem that the flood gates have been opened for the 2013 SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set featuring Jetfire, Hound, Blaster, Bludgeon, Baroness, Ravage, and more! (Okay, there’s that Snake Eyes repaint but who REALLY needs Snake Eyes v 10,203 anymore? It’s a solid set and the “epic conclusion” to the series that began three years ago with Cobra Commander & Starscream and then evolved to Destro & Shockwave in 2012.

Here at JBL, we’re suckers for good G.I. Joe artwork and the website 3DJoes.com. So, imagine the utter glee that was experienced by one admin in particular when the following announcement went up on 3DJoes regarding their recent carded artwork poster project!

Carded 3DJoes” posters are here!

The first “Carded 3DJoes” poster is here! It features every single carded figure from 1982-1985. That’s 49 unforgettable Joes and Cobras on one 24″x36″ poster!Paper details: All 3DJoes posters are printed on 65 lb. sterling premium gloss paper stock. According to my printer, 65 pound paper is the thickest you can use and still roll them without creasing or damaging. It wont easily crease, pinch, or wrinkle. These posters are definitely frame worthy, but the paper is thick enough that if you just want to tack them up, that will work too.

Printing details: We use a four color printing process (CMYK), not digital. Four color prints are much higher quality than digital laser prints. To see behind the scenes at the printer, check out my “3DJoes of the 80s” album on Facebook.

Cost: All 3DJoes posters are an even $20 a piece, plus an estimated $9 for shipping. Comic/Collectibles dealers: please contact me for bulk purchase discounts. Orders of 20 or more are half off!

Why: Proceeds will help pay the $80/month that I’m paying to Arqball for their pro subscription. More info on that here: Pricing » Arqball Spin Blog Fan response has been great and visitors enjoyed 47,000 spins last month, so hopefully I’ll sell plenty of posters!

Wow! 1982 – 1985 were considered by many to be the peak years of the original A Real American Hero toy line. These were the years that introduced fans to most of the line’s core characters from Snake Eyes to Cobra Commander to Firefly to Shipwreck to the Dreadnoks! 49 nine of your favorite characters stunningly reproduced on heavy card stock in a gorgeous 24 x 36 image? This promotion already had me at “poster” but the fact that this is also helping to offset site maintenance costs for 3DJoes.com just makes it a complete no-brainer!Seriously– we’re moving into third quarter now and that means holiday shopping has begun. (Or, at least, you might want to think about getting started.) What better gift for the Joe fan in your life than one of these posters hanging proudly on the wall of their office/den/Joe room!

Just looking at this list it’s easy to see that Hasbro is going for broke with what is billed as the “epic conclusion” to their series of G.I. Joe vs. Transformers exclusives. With two larger vehicles, three figures, and a slew of new accessories it’s easily the most impressive piece in the series. (Last year’s Shockwave HISS w/ Destro and Constructi-BAT was no slouch, however.) For the cost, this set is a STEAL!

For me, one of the high points of the entire set is the Baroness and Ravage which hearkens back to the cancelled statue that was based on early artwork from Dreamwave’s G.I. Joe vs. Transformers crossover comic series. The new Baroness head is awesome and, well, Ravage has been one of my favorite Transformers since G1 debuted! Plus, the VAMP has been and always will be my favorite G.I. Joe vehicle– throwing in Jetfire just makes this set PURE WIN to me. The use of the forthcoming Budo body to produce Bludgeon is just the icing on the cake. (Nice work by John Warden and the guys in Pawtucket on this one!)

Check out Brian Truitt’s article on USAToday.com for some great quotes from both John and Derryl DePriest about this set and start making plans now to snag this one– I have the feeling that Hasbro could never produce enough to meet the demand this time!